First Look: XGRA

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By Fran Mirabella III

Last week IGN got a its first look at Acclaim's latest addition to the Extreme G Racing. Called XGRA (Extreme Gravity Racing Association), the Cheltenham studios developed racer places newfound emphasis on the career and team aspects of competing in the circuits. More than anything, the developers seem to be trying even hard to make the "XGRA" a fully realized NASCAR or FIA of the distant future. Scheduled for a summer 2003 release on GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, our first look at the title is an early one, but we definitely got a sense of what's to come.

Features

A more organized and complete career circuit under the "XGRA"

Deeper story elements -- transfer from team to team, betray trusts, and earn contract hires

Real-time commentary and race history

New bike and character models with detailed characteristics

Six brand-new race types

Bigger focus on weaponry and adjusted lower speed

Interactive and destructible track designs

Improved bike crashes and player damage

Varying weather for diverse track conditions

Supports Dolby Pro Logic II

Planned Summer 2003 release

Gameplay The Extreme G racing franchise is bred on the grandiose dreams of an ultramodern racing organization. In this world a new gravity defies old limitations and opens the way to impossible track designs and ruthless racing circuits. It's what the series has always been about, and most of those concepts still seem to be holding together in the fourth addition to the franchise. In fact, XGRA looks a great deal like its predecessor XGIII. However looks can be deceiving, as Acclaim Cheltenham has been tweaking with a lot of the gameplay defining elements.

First and foremost, Acclaim says that the career and team aspects have drawn the most attention in this new development. You will start at the ground-level of competing and work your way up to the top, likely earning new engines and tons of equipment as you go. In addition to those features, which were already present in XGIII, you will also experience a far greater team element. You will have to prove yourself to race for the top teams, thus earning more cash and respect. As a result of all this new camaraderie, though, you will also experience betrayal. Your team may disown you, or, likewise, you may get an offer from a rival team that is too good to pass up. Presumably, depending on the relationships you forge, it will affect the AI of the competing racers.

Another feature conveyed to us is that the track dynamics have changed; wider, more interactive track designs, a slower speed, and a larger focus on battle tactics make XGRA seem considerably different. In regards to the race environments, tracks are now noticeably wider. There is also some homage to what was recently seen in Wipout Fusion, with the occasional natural track surface such dirt. The more gaping pathways are there for a few reasons, it seems. The first of those is likely to give the player much more room to maneuver while using weaponry. There are a ton of new weapons, and the pace of the racing has been decelerated sharply. Previously the speed of XGIII dictated that you only needed to be moderately aware of weapon-based attacks. In XGRA, because of the lower speed, it seems you will be spending a lot more time bearing the brunt of attacks.

Another possible gameplay feature that factored into the wider tracks may be the new "power slide." We haven't seen it in action yet, but Acclaim said it is a part of the new control scheme. We imagine it is yet another element inspired by what was seen in Wipeout 64 -- after all, at least headcount Acclaim Cheltenham was infused with some former members of the Wipeout team. So in contrast to using the R and L triggers to manage tighter turns -- as seen in XGIII, they are probably used to maneuver the wider corners with deeper, sliding turns. It was an element many were quite fond of in Wipeout, and if Acclaim Cheltenham can improve upon it, then it may be a defining element behind the control mechanics. It would also be nice if you could use the streaking light trails or metal-on-ground sparks to better gauge your progress around turns.